Alexei Yashin, New York Islanders Contract: 10 years, $87.5 million.Signed: 2001 at age 27.Background: The Islanders had new ownership and the ability to spend for the first time in years. They traded for Yashin and Michael Peca to make a first-year splash and gave Yashin the big deal to show he was their franchise player.How it worked out: The Islanders made the playoffs his first season, ending a seven-year drought, and two more years after that. He led or tied for the team scoring lead in three of his four seasons, but he never put up the numbers or had the impact he did in Ottawa. His contract costs the Islanders about $7 million a year in cap value.

Jaromir Jagr, Washington Capitals Contract: Eight years, $88 million.Signed: 2001 at age 29.Background: Jagr was coming off his fourth consecutive scoring title when the Penguins traded him to the Capitals. Washington was in its second full season of new ownership and was also looking to make a splash.How it worked out: Jagr's point totals plunged, and he was traded to the New York Rangers in the middle of the 2003-04 season. Last season, he regained his old form and was MVP runner-up.

Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils Contract: Seven years, $42 million.When: 2006 at age 30.Background: Elias showed his worth last season when the Devils struggled as he missed the first 39 games recovering from hepatitis. But after his return in early January, the Devils soared, clinching first in their division by season's end. He had 45 points in 38 games.How it worked out: The puck drops next month. But the Devils will have to find a way to get Brian Gionta and a few others signed and get under the $44 million cap before that happens.

Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh PenguinsContract: Seven years, $42 millionSigned: 1992 at age 26.Background: The money was monstrous at the time, but Lemieux had just won back-to-back Stanley Cups and Conn Smythe trophies.How it worked out: Lemieux won three scoring titles and one MVP award, but also battled cancer and back problems. He sat out the 1994-95 season to restore his health and retired in 1997 before his contract expired. He eventually turned the deferred payments owed him into ownership of the Penguins.

Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay LightningContract: Six years, $31.5 millionSigned: 2005 at age 30.Background: He had just pulled off the rare feat of winning a Stanley Cup, leading the league in scoring and being named league MVP in the same season.How it worked out: His taking less than one might have expected allowed the Lightning to lock in Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards to long-term deals. But the Lightning struggled overall last season. The smallish St. Louis, who should have benefited from the crackdown on hooking and holding, scored 33 fewer points and saw his plus-minus drop from plus-35 to minus-3.

The New York Islanders, with obvious regrets over a 10-year deal given Alexei Yashin, shocked the hockey world Tuesday by signing goaltender Rick DiPietro to a 15-year deal worth $67.5 million.

The deal is believed to be the longest playing contract in NHL history, although Wayne Gretzky once had a 21-year deal that included some personal service stipulation. DiPietro, who will be 25 next week, will be paid $4.5 million a season.

"I don't anticipate that the contract will serve as a precursor to a broader trend around the league," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said.

Owner Charles Wang said he runs his business "for what we think is best for the New York Islanders franchise, and I've had no reaction from the league.

"If you are building a business, you want continuity. You want the same people to be with you. You want winners to be with you."

Magic Johnson's 25-year NBA deal was the longest in major pro team sports while Donovan McNabb's 12-year deal leads the NFL, and Alex Rodriguez's 10-year deal tops major league baseball.

Before DiPietro's deal, Patrik Elias's seven-year, $42 million deal with the New Jersey Devils was the longest signed in the league this summer. There is an ongoing debate among general managers about whether it's best to tie up players long term or insist on short-term deals under the new salary cap system. But a 15-year deal seemed to catch the hockey world by surprise. DiPietro was 30-24-5 last season with a 3.02 goals-against average.

"I would think it's an aberration," agent Steve Bartlett said. "I've been a little bit surprised by the length of contracts in general, but this certainly raises the bar."

NHL contracts are guaranteed, although under terms of the collective-bargaining agreement, the Islanders can buy out the contract for two-thirds of its remaining value. But there would always be a hit against their salary cap. For example, if DiPietro played 10 years under the deal and the Islanders wanted to buy him out, they would still owe him two-thirds ($15 million) of the remaining $22.5 million. The cap hit would be $15 million, but the CBA would allow the Islanders to spread that over twice the length of contract years remaining, meaning the cap hit would be $1.5 million over 10 years in that case.

"It's mind boggling that anyone would sign a 15-year deal, but hallelujah," Bartlett said. "My sense of the marketplace was that there was going to be a lot more musical chairs. There would be core players, but everyone else would rotate. Do you really want one player to be your key guy for that length of time? Obviously the Islanders do."

A four- or five-year deal is considered a long-term deal in today's marketplace.

"It's highly unlikely that you will see teams go beyond that," Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime contract. Ownership must feel very strongly that he's their guy for the next 15 years."

The Islanders signed Yashin to a 10-year, $87 million deal in 2001 to make him one the league's highest paid players, but he hasn't performed like a franchise player. Wang objected to a characterization that the contract hasn't worked out.

"We forget the state of the franchise when I took over the franchise," he said. "They hadn't been in the playoffs for seven years. Attendance was at a miserable 2,500 season tickets. Average attendance was 5,000 to 6,000. Alexei Yashin, Michael Peca and Chris Osgood brought the fans back."

General manager Garth Snow said the DiPietro signing is good for everyone.

"It's a great deal for the team because we get a flexible (cap) number that we can work with and add players as we need, it's a great deal for Ricky because he has term, and the big bonus is for our fans because they get to see a player that everyone loves for many more years to come."

The average salary of $4.5 million doesn't put DiPietro among the league's highest-paid goalies. Chicago's Nikolai Khabibulin and Vancouver's Roberto Luongo are the highest-paid goalies at $6.75 million a season. Eight goalies' contract average more than $5 million a season.

Daly had not seen DiPietro's contract as of Tuesday afternoon, but he said there would be no reason to have issue with it unless it violated one or more provisions of the CBA.

"We don't dictate how clubs choose to structure their contracts, nor is it our role to do so," Daly said. "Our role is to make sure clubs understand the consequences of what they choose to do within the confines of the CBA. I'm sure the Islanders knew what they were doing. Time will tell whether it will be a good deal or a bad deal for the Islanders."

DiPietro doesn't believe that the deal will put added pressure on him.

"Since I've come into the league (as the first goalie drafted No. 1 overall, in 2000), there's been plenty of pressure," he said. "The whole thing for me is stopping the puck and winning hockey games, and if those two things happen, the rest will take care of itself."